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PROCTOR | October 2015
Elder law
Elder abuse is a significant component of domestic violence, and certain
to become more prominent through the initiatives arising from the Not Now,
Not Ever report. Kirsty Mackie provides a background briefing on this issue.
remain in an abusive situation to preserve
the family relationship.
Accurate data on elder abuse victims is
notoriously difficult to obtain due to under-
reporting and an overall lack of knowledge
and understanding in the community.
The Australian Institute of Criminology in
1999 found that 4.6% of older Australians
were victims of physical, sexual or financial
abuse, perpetrated by family members and
those in an informal care relationship.5
Seniors Rights Victoria in its recent submission
to Victoria’s Royal Commission into Family
Violence quoted a figure of 2% to 6%.6 The
under-reporting of financial abuse is attributed
to the victims fearing a breakdown in family
relationships, dependence on the perpetrator
for care, the belief that financial matters are
a private matter, the ‘normalisation’ of the
financial abuse in that it has been going on for a
long time and a general lack of awareness that
what they are experiencing is a form of abuse.
Abuse against older people is further
complicated by the victims experiencing
declining or fluctuating capacity. Capacity
is a complex issue and little understood in
cases of elder abuse. Capacity is domain
specific, decision specific and time specific,
and there are a range of conditions that
Notes
1 South Australian Public Advocate and University
of South Australia Human Rights and Security
Research Innovation Cluster: Closing the Gaps;
Enhancing South Australia’s response to the
abuse of vulnerable older people (Report for
the Office of Aging and Disability Services,
October 2011).
2 qld.gov.au/community/documents/getting-
support-health-social-issue/dfv-report-vol-one.pdf.
3 WHO, Geneva; Krug E; Dalberg L; Mercy J;
Zwi A; Lorenzo R (eds), ‘World report on
violence and health’ CH 5. See also WHO and
the International Network for the Prevention of
Elder Abuse (INPEA), Toronto Declaration, ‘The
Missing Voices Report: Views of older people
on elder abuse’, Geneva 2002.
4 Year in Review 2014, Elder Abuse
Prevention Unit. eapu.com.au/uploads/
annual_reports/2013-2014%20EAPU
%20Year%20in%20Review.pdf.
5 Fraud and Financial Abuse of Older Persons,
Australian Institute of Criminology No.132,
October 1999.
6 Seniors Rights Victoria, Submission to the Royal
Commission into Family Violence, June 2015, p16.
7 Manthorpe et al ‘Responding to the financial
abuse of older people with dementia: a qualitative
study of safeguarding experiences in England’,
24:9, 2012, International Psychogeriatrics
1454-64 at 1454.
This article appears courtesy of the Queensland Law
Society Elder Law Committee. Kirsty Mackie is the
chair of the committee and principal of KRM Legal, a
boutique firm focusing on elder law and elder abuse.
can impact an older person’s capacity
temporarily, including grief, stress, anxiety,
medication and illnesses such as a urinary
tract infection.
A person suffering from elder abuse is certain
to experience associated grief, stress and
anxiety, which in turn impacts on their capacity
and ability to seek assistance or be taken
seriously. When focusing on financial abuse,
there are concerns that dementia renders
an individual more vulnerable because they are
less able to protect themselves, have declining
abilities to identify and manage risks, may not
report concerns, or fail to be taken seriously.
7
The 140 recommendations of the Not Now,
Not Ever report, all of which were accepted
by the Queensland Government, include
increased education and awareness in the
general community on the issue of abuse
of older Queenslanders.
It is hoped that this will invite a broader
discussion about ageing and shape a
society that respects the rights and needs
of older people.
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